


I think I'm going to score (you) tonight

by HopeSilverheart



Series: Loving Em at 2AM [92]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: (so is Jace), 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Human, Bickering, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Family Feels, First Kiss, First Meetings, Football | Soccer, Friendship, Girls in Love, Kid Fic, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Clary Fray, Or as slow as it can be in a 19k fic, Past Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Slow Burn, Teasing, Their daughters are matchmakers, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:33:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26453413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopeSilverheart/pseuds/HopeSilverheart
Summary: “You don’t like Miss Branwell, do you mom?” Nora asked, looking far too curious and mischievous for Clary’s liking. “You don’t look at anyone else like that, so you must really hate her.”There was something in Nora’s tone, something Clary was sure she should have been able to understand, but she just couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Not that it mattered, since Nora had hit the nail right on the head with her first assumption. Clary had never hated anyone before, but there was a first for everything, and Lydia was as good a candidate as any.Or: 5 times Clary and Lydia hated each other + 1 time they didn’t.
Relationships: Lydia Branwell/Clary Fray, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Loving Em at 2AM [92]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764400
Kudos: 16





	I think I'm going to score (you) tonight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thatnerdemryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatnerdemryn/gifts).



Clary loved her daughter.

She loved seeing her succeed, and she loved cheering her on at every sports meet she wanted to attend. She loved spending time with her and getting to see her smile when her teachers praised her for her progress. Nora was an amazing kid, and Clary couldn’t have been prouder of her.

She just wished her daughter had settled on a sport other than _soccer_. She had nothing against the sport, had even played when she was younger, but as an adult and a parent? Soccer was the worst form of torture. Clary had been to dozens of meets over the past two years of Nora being on the team, and she still hadn’t gotten used to the level of pettiness the other soccer moms engaged in.

The children were ruthless, sure, ready to do anything to win and competitive to a fault, but they were also _kids_. Clary had never expected them to be completely mature about tournaments and meets, no matter how sensible Nora was most of the time. She just hadn’t thought the mothers would be that bad.

Suddenly, she felt bad for her mother and everything Clary had made her put up with when she was younger. Having to attend every single one of Nora’s meets was the only thing that ever made Clary wish for a husband, if only to make him deal with some of the bullshit from time to time.

“So, Clarissa, have you still not found yourself a nice man to settle down with?” Janet asked from Clary’s left.

Honestly, Clary wasn’t sure when the woman had decided to be her designated partner for every game. Somehow, Janet always managed to scope her out and sit down next to her before Clary could protest, even though their daughters could barely stand each other. Or maybe _because_ their daughters could barely stand each other. Clary still didn’t quite understand the intricacies of elementary school girls’ soccer, and she doubted she ever would.

“Janet, maybe you should focus on your own crumbling love life before attacking perfectly lovely young women,” the woman to Clary’s right – whom she had never met before that day – sniped, smirking at Janet. “I’m sure Clarissa has someone wonderful in her life.”

“I don’t, actually,” Clary shrugged. She had never been shy about her personal life, and she wasn’t about to start now. Janet and the new woman could gossip about her as much as they wanted to, Clary wasn’t about to back down. She was single, happy, and proud; Nora was more than enough for her. “I’m not really looking for a relationship.”

“Oh, honey,” the woman – Brenda? – said sadly, placing a hand on Clary’s shoulder. “Were you recently dumped? I know how hard it can be, going from a relationship to being single, so if there’s anything I can do for you…”

“I’m good, really,” Clary cut her off, smiling as politely as she could muster. “Maybe we should focus on the girls instead; I think the game is about to start and I wouldn’t want to miss any of it.”

“Not that it matters whether you’re looking or not, since our team hasn’t lost a single game this season,” Brenda – Clary was _almost_ sure that was her name – smiled sharply. “Maybe I should take the two of you and your daughters out for a meal after this. They might need some comfort after getting completely demolished by my girl’s team.”

Immediately, Clary tensed up, her motherly instincts rising even as she pushed down the urge to snap at the woman. She wasn’t here to get in a fight; she just wanted to see Nora kick everyone’s ass and show who the best team really was. Brenda could say whatever she wanted to, but the St Clair girls were the best in the city, and Clary couldn’t wait to see the look on the other woman’s face when her fancy private school lost to them.

“We haven’t lost a single game this season either,” Janet piped up, huffing haughtily when Brenda snorted at her. “Laugh all you want, but I’d get ready to wipe you daughter’s tears when she realises she got slayed by a couple of public school kids.”

As much as Clary would have loved to see Brenda put back in her place, she knew the game was about to start, and she didn’t want to miss a single second of Nora in action. She quickly told the two women that she had spotted a friend before leaving them behind, intent on finding the perfect spot to watch her daughter from.

The problem about soccer games was that there was never enough space for the mass of moms that showed up to brag about their daughters. Clary had followed Nora to all sorts of meets; softball, swimming, dance, karate… But none of them had ever been as busy or frustrating as the soccer ones.

As soon as Clary saw the empty seat next to a prim-looking blonde woman, she knew she wouldn’t get anything better than that. She only hoped that the reason behind the woman’s solitude wasn’t as bad as what Clary had been trying to avoid in the first place. The last thing she needed was another Janet or – worse – another Brenda.

“Is this seat taken?” She asked softly, her gaze only straying from the game for a second as she took in the blonde in front of her. A moment later, she was double-taking at the woman’s sheer _beauty_ , wondering what on earth she had done to be blessed with such a vision.

“Cutting it a bit close, I see,” the woman raised her eyebrows, a hint of judgement flashing through her gaze as she took in Clary’s appearance.

And all right, Clary knew she wasn’t exactly the most collected-looking mother in the area, but she also knew she wasn’t _that_ bad. She tended to go for comfortable and practical clothes over the type of suit the blonde woman was wearing, and she never bothered to style her hair as intricately as the stranger did. It didn’t mean she was a bad mom; just an overworked one.

“I was sitting further that way, but I’m really not in the mood for gossip and bickering today,” she shrugged, wondering why she even felt the need to defend herself to someone she had only just met. Surely, she wasn’t that desperate for a date. “Janet is the absolute worst when it comes to meets, and it seems she’s finally met her match.”

The blonde woman’s eyes flickered towards the two women Clary had vacated and understanding dawned over her features. A sympathetic grimace pulled at her lips, and Clary found herself ridiculously endeared by such a simple gesture.

“Brenda is… something,” she admitted, waving at the empty chair invitingly. “Go ahead, I’m not waiting for anyone.”

“I’m Clary, by the way,” the redhead introduced herself, dumping her bag next to the chair as she sprawled herself out on it, fanning herself with the pamphlet she had picked up at the studio earlier. “Clary Fairchild. My daughter is number 13.”

“Lydia Branwell,” the blonde tilted her head in acknowledgement, pointing a manicured finger at the blue and silver clad team. “Number 25 over there.”

The girls from Trinity were perfect, mostly white and immaculately dressed, not a hair out of place, but number 25 appeared even more proper than the rest. She had dark hair, piercing green eyes that Clary could spot even from two dozen feet away, and a smile that could have cut diamonds.

“Her father and I usually come to the games together but he was called into work last minute and had to miss this one,” Lydia continued, shaking her head fondly. Whoever her husband was, Clary hoped he knew how lucky he was to have such a beautiful family. “Angie was disappointed, but she understands that we can’t always bet there for her, you know? She’s such a good kid.”

“She certainly seems that way,” Clary smiled. “How long has she been playing soccer for?”

“Ever since she was old enough to run, really,” Lydia chuckled. “Her dad and I tried our best to orientate her towards something a little less blood-thirsty than soccer, but Alec took her out behind our backs and taught her everything she knows. We haven’t been able to keep her away from that ball ever since.”

“I completely understand,” Clary said sympathetically. “Soccer is Nora’s only connection to her father, so no matter how hard I tried to make her choose dance or art or music, she was stuck on soccer from the very start. I think she likes being able to show him how good she’s gotten every time he visits.”

She could tell Lydia had questions, could see the curiosity in the other woman’s gaze but thankfully, the blonde didn’t push. It wasn’t that Clary hated talking about Nora’s father, but she wasn’t exactly in the mood for another person’s judgement, especially given how polite Lydia had been to her so far.

They stayed silent after that, focusing on the game in front of them and cheering for their daughters’ respective teams. Nora scored twice whilst Lydia’s daughter scored once, both of them obviously the best of their teams by a longshot. Clary could tell by the way Nora’s gaze narrowed in on the brunette, her blue and green eyes brimming with fire.

Clary saw it coming from a mile away. The two girls had been taunting each other for the better part of ten minutes when it happened, both of them trying to outdo each other and scoring three goals in record time. Their teams were hovering around them, their coaches were growing restless, and Lydia was tense at Clary’s side.

When Nora tackled Lydia’s daughter a little too harshly, just enough for her to get called out for it and asked to apologise, Clary knew things were about to go downhill. The thing was Nora’s father had never been the type to apologise for things he didn’t see as his fault.

In Nora’s mind, a tackle was just a way for her to get the ball and, as long as the other girl didn’t get hurt, she didn’t care for apologies. She got her pride from her father and her righteousness from Clary, and that dangerous combo rarely ended well for anyone.

“Why isn’t she apologising?” Lydia hissed, narrowing her eyes at Clary. “Did you never teach your daughter that it was rude to hurt someone else? The least she could do is say sorry.”

“We’re still working on that,” Clary sighed, hoping the blonde woman would just drop it. The two girls didn’t seem to be getting along wonderfully, but the brunette had waved the referee away and was already jogging back to her team, so Clary assumed they had resolved their issues some other way.

“Hey, she could have injured my daughter out there,” Lydia added insistently, her stare turning into a glare as Clary continued to stare at the game. “Hell, maybe she _did_. Evangelina is tough, but even she can get hurt.”

“Your daughter seems fine,” Clary pointed out. The brunette was already back to running around with her friends and Clary knew she would score in less than a minute, determined to get back at Nora for the tackle. “I don’t know who you guys play against in Manhattan, but this is hardly the worst I’ve seen from a Brooklyn girl. Nora’s just a little competitive. I’ll make sure to talk to her about it later.”

“So you admit that your little team isn’t against a bit of foul play as long as it can give them an advantage?”

And _woah_ , that was a leap. Clary had no idea where the aggressivity was coming from, but she couldn’t say she appreciated it. Yes, Nora had been in the wrong and yes, she should have apologised, but it wasn’t like she had shoved Lydia’s kid.

“Worst case scenario, she got a little scraped up,” Clary shrugged. “This is soccer; I’m sure your girl’s gotten way worse in the past. And if you really want Nora to apologise, I could always call her over after the game and ask her to do it in front of you. Clearly, you care about this more than your daughter does, so…”

“Evangelina needs to learn to stand up for herself but, in the meantime, damn right I’m going to defend her when a Brooklyn girl decides to act like a punk and hurt her,” Lydia snapped. “She got enough bullshit like this when she was younger, the last thing she needs is a repeat of that scenario.”

Clary got it, she really did. She knew how past trauma could affect a child’s development, knew that it never really went away, but she doubted that a tackle during a soccer game compared to whatever Evangelina had gone through before.

“You know what? Maybe I won’t make Nora apologise,” Clary said, clapping politely as Evangelina scored again. The game was only a few minutes away from being over, and Clary intended on taking Nora home as soon as the referee blew that whistle. “Your daughter is fine, the referee let them play again, and there’s nothing for us to be arguing about.”

“Except for the fact that your daughter is apparently a little too arrogant to be playing a team sport,” Lydia scoffed, raising her eyebrows as Clary gathered her belongings and walked closer to the playing field. “That’s right, run away from your parenting failures, Fairchild! I’ll make sure to let everyone know about what your daughter did and maybe make them reconsider letting her stay on the team.”

Clary knew Lydia didn’t have any control over Nora’s place on her school’s team, but she still had to bite back the apology that almost slipped past her lips. Her mother had always taught her to respond to a threat with politeness, back when they’d had nothing and couldn’t afford to be careless, but Clary wasn’t the same woman now.

She didn’t need to be afraid of people like Lydia.

“And the game goes to St Clair’s!” The referee called out, signalling the end of the meet and congratulating the girls as they shook each other’s hands. The Trinity girls looked a little down at their loss, but Clary didn’t think any of them seemed particularly annoyed, which was frankly impressive considering the way some of the other teams had reacted.

“Did you see that, mom?!” Nora exclaimed, throwing herself into Clary’s arms and effectively covering her in sweat, her best friend close behind. “Coach Barbara said I shouldn’t let my ego get the better of me next time, but she also said I was getting better at scoring, so that’s good, right?”

“Yeah it is, honey,” Clary smiled, kissing her daughter’s forehead and waving at Jenny as the other girl headed towards her parents. “You did great out there today, even though we’re going to need to have another talk about violence and proper behaviour on the field.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt her, and I promise she told me she was fine,” Nora blurted out immediately, glancing briefly in Evangelina and Lydia’s direction before taking Clary’s hand and letting herself be led towards the parking lot. “We were just playing, I swear.”

“I know you were,” Clary sighed. “But that’s no reason not to apologise. Her mom thought you were being rude or arrogant, and I’m sure the girl would have appreciated a little ‘sorry’ as well. It’s just basic politeness, honey, we’ve been over this. I know your father isn’t huge on things like that, but he’s also hardly the person you should be looking up to in terms of proper behaviour.”

“I’m sorry,” Nora murmured, staring down at her feet as they finally reached their car. “Is that why we left so fast? Because you got in an argument with 25’s mom?”

“25’s name is Evangelina Branwell,” Clary snorted. “But yes, that’s why we left so fast. She wanted to make a huge deal out of it and I know you figured things out on the field so I didn’t want you to have to apologise in front of all those people for nothing.”

“Sure, mom,” Nora raised her eyebrows, looking a little too sceptical for Clary’s tastes. “ _That’s_ why you wanted us to leave so fast. I believe you.”

Clary had no idea what her daughter was trying to insinuate, but she had a feeling she didn’t want to know, so she let it go. If it was important, Nora would bring it up again at a later date and if not, it didn’t matter in the first place.

Besides, Clary _really_ didn’t want to think about why else she might have wanted to get away from the attractive blonde as fast as possible. She just didn’t want her kid to be humiliated in front of her entire team and an opposing school, that was all.

It had nothing to do with the frustratingly hot but painfully uptight woman who clearly thought herself superior to Clary. Nothing at all.

* * *

It had been a bad idea all along.

Clary wasn’t sure why she had agreed with Jace’s insane plan, wasn’t sure why she had accepted his charity for the first time in almost a decade, but she wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

St Clair’s was a good school. It was right next to Clary’s apartment, and it cost nothing for them to send Nora there. Their daughter was happy with her friends, with her team, with her teachers, with _everything_. She loved the place, and Clary should have known better than to listen to Jace. He had just been so convincing, so insistent that Trinity would be better for Nora, and Clary…

Clary had grown up in Brooklyn, had spent her entire childhood in the public school system, and she didn’t know the first thing about private schools. Jace had offered to pay and, deep down, Clary had wondered if maybe this was her only chance to give her daughter a better life. Private schools weren’t universally better, but Trinity? Trinity was the best of the best.

It would have been foolish of her to refuse, but she was starting to think that it had been even more foolish of her to accept Jace’s help.

“No one likes me here, mom,” Nora cried, curling herself further into Clary’s lap and hiccupping as she tried to breathe in between sobs. “I want to go back to St Clair’s. I miss Jenny and I miss the team and I want to go _back_.”

The young redhead had been inconsolable ever since Clary had picked her up after a long first day of school. She had stayed strong until they had entered the car, but she had broken down as soon as her new classmates were out of sight. Clary wasn’t sure what the girls there were like, but she had a feeling they weren’t as welcoming as Jace and the teachers had made them out to be.

“You know it isn’t quite that simple, honey,” Clary sighed. “You talked to your father about this, remember? He told you that he would show you around and give you time to think but that once you had made up your mind, it would be hard for you to change it.”

“How hard?” Nora asked, her eyes shining determinedly. God, she was so strong. “How hard would it be for me to go back to St Clair’s?”

To be completely honest, Clary didn’t think it would be that hard. All Nora would have to do was disobey, act out, refuse to do her homework… With enough resistance on her part, it wouldn’t be long before Clary got asked to pull her out of the school. However, all of that would go against everything Clary had taught her daughter, and that wasn’t something she was ready to sacrifice.

“Why don’t you tell me what went wrong today?” She asked instead. There had to have been something or someone that had really set Nora off. Clary knew her daughter; she wasn’t the type to whine about just anything. If there were tears, then there was also a reason behind them.

“The morning was okay,” Nora shrugged, wiping at her cheeks with her sleeves and spreading tears and snot all over her uniform. Clary winced at the already ruined shirt and reminded herself to buy another set as soon as possible – she was starting to think two wasn’t going to be enough. “The girls were okay, the boys were _boys_ , and the teacher is nice.”

“What happened this afternoon, then?” Clary frowned. “Did someone say something about you being a transfer student? Did they make fun of you for not having friends? Was it your hair again?”

“That happened _once_ , mom,” Nora pouted, crossing her arms petulantly. “And no, it wasn’t about my hair. The other girls had soccer practise this afternoon, and I asked if I could try out for the team. Then one girl said they didn’t want violent delinquents playing with them. I looked it up, and I really don’t think delinquent is a good word.”

“No, it’s not,” Clary grit out, trying to keep her cool. Getting angry and upset around Nora wouldn’t achieve anything; she needed to remain calm and try to figure out who had said that before doing anything irrational. “Who on earth would say something like that to-”

Suddenly, memories of a match three months prior flashed in Clary’s mind. She had completely forgotten about the game against Trinity, too busy with other things to remember a single soccer meet and an annoyed mother. She hadn’t even considered Nora’s past with the school’s soccer team before signing her up, especially since the incident had been so _small_.

“Was it the brunette you tackled that one time?” She sighed, rubbing her hands over her face. “Because if so, I’ll have a talk with the coach and make sure that you get your rightful spot on the team. You didn’t do anything wrong that day, and you deserve to be playing.”

“I don’t want to play if all the other girls hate me,” Nora said sharply, scrambling off Clary’s lap and glaring at the older woman. “I don’t care about dad’s stupid school and his stupid scholarship and all the fancy things they could give me. I want to go back to St Clair’s.”

With that, she stormed off towards her bedroom, leaving Clary behind with her guilt and worry.

The chances of Trinity giving Jace his money back for the semester were slim, and Clary refused to give him anything to hold against her. Her ex was a reasonable man most of the time, and a decent father when he wanted to be, but she wasn’t about to risk it all for a school. As much as she wanted Nora to be happy, she didn’t think that could happen at St Clair’s.

However, she could and _would_ make things better for her daughter at Trinity if that was the last thing she did. If the girl insulting Nora was the same one who had gotten tackled all those months back, it really wouldn’t be hard for Clary to call in a meeting with her teacher or coach to sort things out.

She just hoped they didn’t drag the other mother into it as well.

***

“What do you mean, there’s been a complaint about Angie’s behaviour?”

Clary grimaced at the voice coming from her daughter’s classroom. She should have known better than to confront the teacher about the troubles Nora was having so early on in her stay at the school. It wasn’t that she thought her daughter was lying, because she _knew_ Nora wasn’t, but… Well, Lydia Branwell probably had a lot more influence within Trinity than Clary did, and that didn’t bode well for her or Nora.

She should have known the teacher wouldn’t wait longer than a day to keep the other mother updated on what was going on in her classroom. It was normal, rational even, and yet Clary couldn’t help but wish the teacher could have resolved things directly with the students rather than implicating the parents.

“Ah, Miss Fairchild, we were just discussing your daughter’s problems with Evangelina,” the teacher waved Clary into the room, apparently oblivious to the way Lydia narrowed her eyes at her dangerously. “I just wanted to let the two of you know that I had a long conversation with the girls today in the hopes of setting things straight between them.”

“And?” Clary asked, pointedly not looking at the blonde woman next to her.

“Evangelina apologised to Nora for her callous words, but she still doesn’t seem to want her on the team,” the teacher – Dot, Clary thought – explained. “Of course, Evangelia has absolutely no say in who gets to join the school’s team, so if Nora wants to try out, she’s more than welcome to.”

“With all due respect, Dorothea, I really don’t think letting her try out for the team is a good idea,” Lydia interjected, sending a smug smile in Clary’s direction. “I’ve seen Nora play before, and I don’t believe she would fit in well with the other girls. She used to play for a Brooklyn public school, you see, and there have been… incidents before.”

“There has been a total of one incident, and it was small enough that the referee dismissed it in a matter of seconds,” Clary countered, clenching her jaw and reminding herself that hitting another parent really wouldn’t help her case. “I’m sure Nora would have apologised to your daughter before joining the team, if only Evangelina hadn’t called her a _delinquent_.”

“She called her a _what?_ ” Lydia’s eyes widened comically. Clary couldn’t say she was surprised to learn that she hadn’t been the one to teach her daughter such a word. As annoying as Lydia Branwell was, she was clearly a good mother who was trying to raise her daughter into a polite young woman. _Delinquent_ wasn’t exactly the type of word Clary imagined her using around her kid. “Who on earth taught her- Oh, of course. I swear I’m going to kill him.”

“Her father?” Clary asked, an amused smile tugging at her lips. Clearly, she wasn’t the only one who was dealing with a slightly chaotic male figure in her daughter’s life.

“Her uncle,” Lydia corrected. “He’s a good man, but he needs to start thinking before saying things like that around Evangelina. Anyways, my point stands: whether Angie called your daughter a delinquent or not has nothing to do with Nora’s place on the team. Trinity has a strict no-violence policy.”

“One that Nora has never broken,” Clary reminded her. “Yes, she tackled your daughter during a game, but it was _nothing._ Seriously, it was three months ago, how are you not over it? Nora is a great player, and I refuse to keep her in a school that won’t even let her participate in her favourite activity. No one ever even made a formal complaint, which means it can’t have been that bad. Just let her try out for the goddamned team and tell your daughter not to insult her again.”

“Ladies, there’s really no need for so much anger in the classroom,” Dot cut in, staring at them with raised eyebrows. “I understand that the two of you may have had a rocky start, but why don’t you try to put those problems aside? For your daughters’ sake, at the very least. If you want Nora and Evangelina to get along, then the first step is for you to show them how it’s done.”

“Oh, I don’t necessarily want Nora and Evangelina to be friends,” Clary said hurriedly. “I mean, they can be friends if they want to, but I won’t be pushing for it. I just don’t want her to get harassed by her classmates for tackling a student from another school during a _soccer meet_.”

“Understandable,” Dot smiled calmly, although Clary could tell she was struggling not to snap at them. She would probably be doing the same thing if two parents came up to her after an art class and acted like two pre-pubescent girls. There was just something about Lydia that made her want to pull the other woman’s hair out with her bare hands.

“Fine, let her try out for the team,” the blonde woman threw her hands in the air. “I just hope you don’t regret it once the second season starts up. Now, are we free to leave?”

“You are,” the teacher assured them, gesturing towards the remaining children. Nora and Evangelina were sitting as far apart from each other as they physically could, which was at least a step up from hitting or insulting each other. “But please remind your daughters that my classroom is not a war zone. I don’t want to get any more complaints from either of them, and I certainly don’t want to get complaints from either of _you_.”

With that, she turned towards another parent with a far more genuine smile, leaving Clary and the blonde woman to stare each other down. Clary knew the best thing to do was ignore Lydia and find Nora before things could escalate, but a part of her… A part of her _wanted_ to battle the other woman with her words. Something about her made Clary’s nerves tingle, and she wanted more of it, no matter how unhealthy it might be.

(It had nothing to do with her undeniable attraction towards pissed off but controlled women. Nothing at all.)

“I wasn’t aware you had moved into the area,” Lydia said after a few minutes of silence. “I thought you liked that little school too much to ever pull your daughter out of it. Did you finally realise that she would only get the education she really needed at Trinity?”

“Her father got her a scholarship here,” Clary grit out. She wasn’t particularly eager to share details of hers and Nora’s personal lives with someone like Lydia Branwell, but she also didn’t want her to believe Clary had changed her mind about the school system. “St Clair’s was an incredible place, but we gave Nora the choice and she decided she wanted to try something new, maybe even feel closer to her father.”

“Oh, how sweet,” the blonde raised her eyebrows, sounding a little too mocking for Clary’s tastes. “Trying to buy your daughter’s love with money?”

Immediately, Clary stiffened. Even Lydia seemed to realise she had overstepped her boundaries, if the guilty look in her eyes was anything to go by. Unfortunately, as much as Clary would have liked to punch her right there and then, she knew the location was completely inappropriate for such violence.

“I’m-” Clary didn’t let the other woman finish her sentence.

“Look, I don’t care what kind of issues you have with me,” she breathed. “I don’t know if I remind you of someone from your past or if my behaviour offended you at the game, and I really don’t _want_ to know. However, if you could make sure that your feelings for me don’t influence your daughter’s feelings for Nora, that would be much appreciated.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Lydia said softly. “And I really am sorry for what I said. No matter our… problems, I shouldn’t have talked about Nora’s father that way.”

“Just don’t do it again,” Clary muttered. “In fact, try not to speak to me again unless it’s absolutely necessary, alright? I’d rather not waste my time on someone who’s intent on antagonising me at every turn.”

“Oh, _I’m_ the antagonising one?” Lydia scoffed, clearly not noticing that she was effectively proving Clary’s point with her words and accusatory tone. “Everything would have been fine if you hadn’t acted like such a bi- like you had at the soccer game.”

“Look, I really don’t care who antagonised who first,” Clary hissed, plastering a smile onto her face as Nora spotted her and hurried her way. “Either way, we should be fine as long as we stay away from each other, alright? Best case scenario, we only see each other at soccer games. Does that sound good to you?”

“Sounds fine, although you seem extremely confident that she’ll get on the team,” Lydia smirked, her smile turning more genuine as her daughter raced Nora to the pair of adults. “Who knows what’ll happen when she tries out.”

“If that was a threat, it wasn’t very effective. Nora will get on the team because she’s amazing, and you know that as well as I do,” Clary said just as their daughters reached them. “Hey, honey! How was your third day of school? Starting to feel a little more at home?”

“Sure,” Nora shrugged, pointedly not looking at the Branwells. “Did you talk to Dot about me trying out for the soccer team?”

“I did,” Clary smiled, stroking her daughter’s hair softly. “She didn’t see an issue with it, so I’m sure the coach will be approaching you in the next few days to organise something, and then you’ll finally be able to play again! I’m sure your father will be over the moon. I know he’s been missing his practises with you.”

“He didn’t have to stop training with me just because I wasn’t on a team,” Nora murmured, just loud enough for Clary to hear her. “But what about the other issue with soccer? Did you talk to Dot about _that_?”

“I assure you that won’t be a problem again,” Clary answered warmly, shooting Lydia and her daughter a meaningful glance. “Isn’t that right, Miss Branwell?”

“Absolutely,” the elder Branwell nodded in Nora’s direction. “I’m very sorry for the misunderstanding and what Evangelina said to you, Nora. If it ever happens again, please make sure to tell the teacher so I can work things out with my daughter later, alright? And Evangelina, we _will_ be talking about this. You know better than to use words like that, especially when you’re at school.”

Evangelina whispered something underneath her breath too low for Clary to hear but, if the exasperated sigh her mother let out was anything to go by, it wasn’t anything good. Thankfully, _that_ problem wasn’t any of Clary’s business.

“Well then, we’ll be off,” Clary said, taking Nora’s hand and sending one last insincere smile in Lydia’s direction before walking out of the room. “God, some people…”

“You don’t like Miss Branwell, do you mom?” Nora asked, looking far too curious and mischievous for Clary’s liking. “You don’t look at anyone else like that, so you must _really_ hate her.”

There was something in Nora’s tone, something Clary was sure she should have been able to understand, but she just couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Not that it mattered, since Nora had hit the nail right on the head with her first assumption.

Clary had never hated anyone before, but there was a first for everything, and Lydia was as good a candidate as any.

* * *

When Clary got a call from the school saying that she needed to stop later that day because of ‘trouble’ with Nora, her first thought was that her daughter had gotten hurt or bullied and needed her help. The Trinity secretary was quick to correct her and explain that Nora had been the one to _cause_ trouble, which really didn’t make sense to Clary.

Nora didn’t get into trouble. She was a good kid, and Clary found it hard to believe that she would have changed so suddenly. If she had acted out during her first month at Trinity, she wouldn’t have blinked, but she had been there for _three months_ now. If there had been a problem on that front, the teachers would have noticed it earlier.

She spent the entire trip to the school that night thinking about what could have possibly happened and was still convinced it had to have been a mistake. That was until she stepped out of her car and ran into none other than Lydia Branwell, looking just as harried as her.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Clary threw her hands in the air. “Of course your daughter is involved. I should have known she would stir up trouble again eventually.”

She was being unfair and they both knew it. Evangelina and Nora had been nothing but polite to each other over the past few months, and Clary seriously doubted that only one of them was to blame for what had happened that day. However, she had to admit that riling up Lydia was quickly becoming one of her favourite pastimes. There was something exhilarating about seeing the other woman’s cheeks flush a deep red every time Clary opened her mouth.

For the most part, the two mothers tended to avoid each other. Clary didn’t actually _want_ to get into an argument every time her daughter had a meet, so she tried to stay away from the Branwells. Unfortunately for everyone involved, it was impossible for them to stay apart all of the time. There were moments when all the soccer parents were called in or asked to mingle, and Clary ended up finding Lydia every single time.

“I’m really not in the mood to argue with you right now, Fairchild,” Lydia snapped, sighing as Clary matched her stride for stride. “I had a long day at work and hadn’t intended on picking Evangelina up tonight, so if you could keep your comments to yourself, I would appreciate that. Especially since we both know there’s no way Angie is the only one to blame here.”

Clary knew she should leave well enough alone. She’d had her fair share of long days, and the last thing she wanted after they happened was to get in a fight with someone else. However, she had clearly underestimated her level of pettiness when it came to Lydia Branwell, because her lips were parting again before she could even think about stopping them.

“Funny that you should mention long days, don’t you think?” Clary raised her eyebrows, looking sideways at the blonde woman and smirking when she saw her tense up. “You certainly didn’t seem to care about them when I showed up late for a meet after an endless weekend of work.”

“Long days don’t excuse lateness,” Lydia scoffed. “Don’t try to compare your bad parenting to my nightmarish days, please. You can’t justify your inability to be on time with work.”

“No? But you can justify your foul mood that way?” Clary chuckled. “Seems a little hypocritical if you ask me. Serious double standard right there, Branwell. Besides, I wasn’t trying to start an argument with you; I’m just saying that it doesn’t surprise me Nora is in trouble at the same time as Evangelina.”

“Really?” Lydia asked, sounding genuinely surprised. “I honestly thought the two of them were starting to get along, no matter how strange a friendship between the two of them seems. Angie has actually been mentioning Nora from time to time over the past few weeks.”

Nora had been doing the same thing, but Clary had been mostly ignoring all mentions of Lydia’s daughter. The girl was adorable and Nora was clearly starting to like her, but Clary had quickly learned that her irrationality regarding Lydia extended to her daughter. Besides, if Evangelina was getting Nora into trouble, Clary wasn’t sure she wanted them to be friends at all.

She stopped that train of thought as soon as it crossed her mind. She had always promised herself that she wouldn’t try to control Nora’s friendships, no matter how much she had wanted to at times. Evangelina wouldn’t have been her top pick, but she wasn’t her daughter. Nora could take care of herself.

(She repeated that in her head a few times, praying she would remember it when the time came to confront Nora about what had happened.)

“What’s the principal of the school like?” Clary inquired, mostly to fill the silence and partly to get rid of the hostility lingering between the two of them. As fun as their banter and arguments could be, she remembered Dot’s warning clearly and doubted the administration would appreciate their fights any more than their daughters’ teacher had.

“You’ve never met the principal of the school your daughter attends?” Lydia huffed amusedly. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since you apparently let her father make decisions for you whenever it’s convenient.”

“Seriously? This again?” Clary grit out. She wasn’t sure what Lydia had against Nora’s father, but she should have known better than to bring him up once more. The blonde had already slipped up four times since they had first met, and the constant references to Jace were starting to get on her nerves. “Just because I let him do things for our daughter doesn’t mean I’m not also part of the decision-making.”

“I know,” Lydia winced, looking just as apologetic as she had the past few times she’d brought Jace up unintentionally. “But my point stands. Why on earth have you not even tried to meet the principal?”

“How would you know that I haven’t tried?” Clary raised her eyebrows, turning into the last corridor before the principal’s office. “I was planning on meeting up with her all along, but work has been particularly busy these past few months and Nora’s father had it under control.”

Before Lydia could say anything else, Clary stepped into the office, nodding gratefully at the secretary posted outside her door. The room was exactly how she had imagined it would be; sombre but classy, clearly richly decorated and meant to intimidate the kids without outright frightening them.

Nora and Evangelina were already seated across from the principal, both looking extremely guilty, and Clary knew they were in for a serious talk. She took her seat next to Nora without fuss, sending her daughter a concerned gaze and ruffling her hair in a way she hoped said ‘ _I’m not mad at you’_ ’ before focusing on the principal, Jia Penhallow.

“Miss Fairchild, Miss Branwell, a pleasure to see you both,” the woman smiled, reaching over to shake both of their hands and leaning back in her seat. “We’re just waiting on the fathers, then.”

Clary’s eyes widened comically and, next to her, she could see Lydia doing the same thing. Whatever Nora and Evangelina had done, it was clearly a lot bigger than what Clary had anticipated. She had made it very clear that Jace wasn’t meant to be contacted outside of emergencies, which didn’t bode well for whatever trouble their daughter was currently in.

“Is it that bad?” Lydia asked, clearly in agreement with Clary’s internal assessment. “I was under the impression that only one parent needed to be contacted most of the time, so this must be... I mean, Evangelina has never done anything wrong before, surely a warning would have been enough?”

“Dorothea decided it was important enough to call all of you in,” Jia explained. “I’ll give you the details once their fathers arrive, but I really _do_ think it’s an issue that needs to be addressed when all the parents are present.”

Clary bristled a little at the implication that she couldn’t take care of her daughter herself or that she needed _Jace_ to help with the discipline, but she knew the principal was only trying to do her job properly. Still, part of her wanted nothing more than to tell Jia exactly what she thought about her idea of waiting for all the parents to arrive.

There was a _reason_ why Clary and Lydia had made it to the school first, and it had nothing to do with how close they were to Trinity. Jace was a decent father, but he didn’t have any say in Nora’s upbringing and Clary wasn’t sure why this principal thought he should. She had no idea what Evangelina’s father was like, but she had a feeling Lydia wasn’t the type to delegate either.

“Sorry we’re late!” A male voice spoke from behind them.

Clary turned around and briefly nodded at Jace, who had stormed in with two – very attractive – men and was looking at Nora and Evangelina with a strange look on his face.

“I wasn’t aware the two of you knew each other,” he blurted out, glancing between his daughter and Lydia’s rapidly. “How do you two know each other? Since _when_? Seriously, I didn’t realise you were in the same grade.”

“You… know them?” Clary frowned, blinking as the man with coloured strands in his hair skipped towards Lydia, pressing a kiss to Evangelina’s hair before moving to lean against one of the room’s walls. “What on earth is going on here?”

“You asked _Uncle Jace_ to come here?” Evangelina gaped, staring at the blond man and groaning loudly. “Come on, we didn’t even do anything! Did you have to call our entire families? Miss Penhallow, you know I would never steal something, especially not from the school.”

“ _Stealing_?”

“Have I not told you that stealing should be kept strictly to the outside world? Seriously girls, I thought I raised you better than that.”

“Wait, hold up, Uncle Jace?”

“I’m actually curious about our presence here too. Were all three of Angie’s parents really needed for this situation?”

The principal stared between all of them with wide eyes, clearly unprepared for the chaos she had accidentally wreaked. Nora was looking between all the adults with an adorably confused expression on her face, and Clary was glad to know that she wasn’t the only lost one in the mix.

“Mister Herondale, Misters Lightwood-Bane, would you please settle down so we can sort this out?” Jia finally said, clapping her hands together and gesturing towards the two impatient-looking girls. “I understand that there may be some… confusion going around because of your interesting family dynamics, but the girls have already been waiting for half an hour and I would rather wrap this up before the sun sets.”

Instantly, Jace took the remaining seat next to Clary, the other man doing the same on Lydia’s side whilst the third man adjusted his position against the wall.

“So, you said the girls stole something?” Lydia asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen upon the small group. “I find it hard to believe that Angie would ever do that, not even if she had an accomplice to help her or push her in the wrong direction.”

“Funny, I was about to say the same thing about Nora,” Clary raised her eyebrows in Lydia’s direction, her lips curling into a small smirk when the other woman visibly grit her teeth. “And even if she had stolen something, she’s far too smart to get caught with proof of what she had done.”

“So you’re saying she _could_ have stolen something,” Lydia said triumphantly, her eyes lighting up with glee even as Evangelina’s father – one of her fathers? – squeezed her knee tightly. “I’m just repeating what Miss Fairchild said before me. I’m not accusing her daughter of anything, but Angie doesn’t need to ‘be smart’ with what she steals, because she doesn’t steal in the first place.”

“Woah, blondie, chill out,” Jace exclaimed, leaning over Clary to stare at Lydia. “You know as well as I do that Clary was just joking around. Besides, who do you think taught Nora and Angie the basics of stealing, huh? It’s certainly not either of you ladies, that’s for sure.”

“You taught our daughter how to steal?” The man sitting next to Lydia gaped, looking like he was seconds away from slapping the back of Jace’s head. Clary could relate. “Jace, I thought we’d gone over this! Bad enough that you curse around her, now you’re adding inappropriate lessons to the list of things we have to look out for?”

“He never actually taught me how to steal,” Evangelina piped up, curling in on herself when her parents shot her a warning glance. “Sorry. And we didn’t steal today, we just found a cell phone in the bushes around the playground and decided to bring it in, but then Dot asked us why we had Mister Morgenstern’s phone and didn’t believe us when we said it was just _there_.”

“You’re telling us we were all called here because one of your teachers didn’t believe our daughters when they told her that they had just found the phone?” The second man asked, sounding completely shocked. “What on earth is wrong with you? Evangelina has always been a model student, she’s never lied, but you immediately believed her teacher when she accused her of theft? I think we’ll be leaving now. If Angie says she found the phone on the floor, then she found the phone on the floor.”

“Really, Lina and I were just trying to find the soccer ball we accidentally kicked into the bushes,” Nora said softly, gazing straight at Clary as though _she_ was the one who needed convincing. As far as Clary was concerned, the school had been foolish to organise a meeting for an inexistent issue. “Mister Morgenstern said he saw us take it, but our classroom isn’t anywhere near his. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“No,” Clary agreed. “No, it really doesn’t.”

“Dorothea and Jonathan are esteemed members of our community and I find it hard to believe that they would have lied about such a thing,” the principal insisted, her eyes flickering between the five parents incessantly. “I understand why you might not want to think about your daughters stealing, but you have to consider the facts and the evidence presented to y-”

Maybe it was because she was surrounded by four other adults who were clearly on her side, or maybe her conversation with Lydia had riled her up more than she had realised, but Clary suddenly couldn’t take it anymore. When she had agreed to transfer Nora to Trinity, she had been told the staff would always put the children first, yet it felt an awful lot like the principal was pandering to her teachers by putting the blame on two innocent girls.

If Clary could argue with Lydia and come out victorious, then she could damn well argue with Penhallow.

“For heaven’s sake, suspend them if you want to, but don’t sit there and act like this is a bigger deal than it actually is!” She exclaimed, ignoring Jace’s shocked gaze boring into the side of her head. “If you called us here just to get us to agree with your theory, then I’m afraid you’re about to be sorely disappointed. You can punish them if you want to but know that if you do I’ll seriously reconsider my daughter’s placement in this school.”

They all knew the principal didn’t want Nora to leave the school. Jace’s grandmother was part of the school board and, on top of that, Nora was a fantastic soccer player. If Clary pulled her out because of an issue with the principal and two of her teachers, there was a good chance _they_ would get a visit from the board sooner rather than later.

“I think it’s time for Lydia to take Evangelina home,” the man next to Lydia spoke up when the principal failed to say anything else. “And please don’t call us next time something like this happens. The only reason you have our numbers is in case of an emergency, so unless Angie is seriously injured, I ask that you only contact Lydia.”

“The same goes for me,” Jace agreed. “Clary is Nora’s guardian and, although I will always be here if she cannot make it or if Nora gets in _actual_ trouble, contacting her alone is more than enough.”

The principal opened her mouth as though to protest, but one collective glare from the five adults in the room was enough to have her backing down.

“Very well,” Jia said, clearing her throat. “I apologise for the inconvenience, girls, and I will make sure to have a word with your teachers tomorrow. Your preferences in regard to who should be contacted for issues has also been noted, Misters. You’re all free to go. And again, my sincerest apologies for the mix-up.”

Clary snorted at the principal’s choice of vocabulary but covered it up as soon as she realised Lydia had reacted the same way. Just because she was confused about what was going on with their daughters’ fathers didn’t mean Clary had suddenly forgotten about the blonde’s many inappropriate comments, especially those concerning Nora’s parentage.

“So Jace,” she said as she stood and took her daughter’s hand in hers. “How do you know the Branwells, exactly?”

“It’s complicated,” the blond man sighed, his eyes momentarily straying to the other family before settling on an intrigued-looking Nora. “Alec, the one who was sitting next to Lydia, is my adoptive brother. I think I’ve told you a little about him and his husband, Magnus, but I never thought to introduce you to them. Lydia wanted a child but couldn’t have one alone, so Alec is Angie’s biological father.”

“So Lina and I are… cousins?” Nora asked, frowning as she stared back at the quartet behind them.

“In a way,” Jace shrugged. “I never really thought about it that way, honestly, since Alec is only her father in name. She calls him and Magnus her fathers, but they’re more her uncles than anything else.”

“Okay,” Nora said slowly, clearly still a little lost about the entire situation but willing to drop the subject for now. “Are you coming home with us then, dad? Since you’re here already?”

“Why not,” Clary sighed when Nora’s father glanced at her questioningly. She didn’t particularly enjoy having Jace around more than strictly necessary, but Nora loved him and Clary tried not to deny her daughter access to the things she really wanted. If more time with Jace was what she needed at the moment, then that was what she would get.

“What’s the deal between you and Lydia, anyways?”

“There is no deal between Fairchild and I,” Lydia interrupted them, appearing next to Jace and sending Clary a sharp smile, clearly unashamed by her eavesdropping. “I’m just suddenly starting to understand certain things about this little family of hers.”

“I could say the same about you,” Clary pointed out, raising her eyebrows in Alec and Magnus’ direction. “So many things make sense now that I’ve met Evangelina’s _fathers_.”

It was a low blow, but it had been a while since Clary had worried about that when it came to Lydia. The blonde woman was obviously a little insecure about her daughter’s fathers and the strange configuration of their family, but it was no reason for her to attack Nora’s father in retaliation.

“Oh, I see how it is,” Jace chuckled, winking at Nora when she giggled happily. “I’m not sure why I’m even surprised.”

“Surprised about what?” Clary and Lydia asked in unison, narrowing their eyes at each other as they did so.

“Nothing,” Jace laughed louder, picking Nora up and twirling her around once before setting her down again. “Race you to your mother’s car!”

“Jace, what are you talking about?!” Clary called after him, barely looking at Lydia before taking off after her daughter and her ex. She would have plenty of time to tease Lydia at a later date; Jace, on the other hand, couldn’t wait. If she left him alone with Nora for too long, she feared what might happen.

Besides, she needed to find out what on earth he had noticed about Lydia and her and correct any of his misconceptions.

After all, what was there to notice other than animosity?

* * *

Clary had been suspicious ever since she had picked an overly cheerful Nora up from school that afternoon, and the invitation currently being presented to her was proof that she had been right to think something was going on.

Nora had been to her fair share of birthday parties in the past, but this one was the first one she had been invited to since she had started at Trinity. It was a big deal and Clary couldn’t have been happier for her daughter, really. She just wished the person inviting Nora was someone else.

Evangelina and Nora had grown closer and closer over the past month, helped along by Jace and his brother, who had apparently taken it upon themselves to organise play dates between the girls. Evangelina was a wonderful girl; she was polite and kind and everything Clary could have wanted in a friend for her daughter. More importantly, Nora got along with her almost as well as she had with Jenny, which was saying a lot.

So, Clary was delighted that Nora had been asked to attend Evangelina’s birthday party. She just wished it didn’t come with the responsibility of actually _taking her_ there. Her relationship with Lydia – if one could call it that – hadn’t gotten any better since their daughters had been accused of stealing together.

For a week after their meeting with the principal, Clary had thought that maybe they could try to get along better for their daughters’ sake. That resolution had gone down the drain as soon as they had seen each other at yet another soccer game. Clary’s pettiness – for that was what it was, truly – had soared and she had found herself incapable of holding her tongue.

Lydia rubbed her the wrong way, and there was apparently nothing she could do to change that. Jace had told her – many, _many_ times – that the two of them could be friends if only they tried, but Clary didn’t think he understood what was going on between the two women.

Lydia and she were stuck in a strange stare-off comprised of thinly-veiled insults and outright barbs, little jibes that could have passed as teasing if they had been anyone else. As it was, it was unlikely that things between them would get better anytime soon. Maybe not ever.

Which was the only reason why Clary was even _considering_ letting Jace take care of the dropping off and picking up of their daughter. She usually never even thought about him in those instances since he was known for always being late, but this was a special case.

“You want _dad_ to take me to the party?” Nora frowned as Clary twisted the invitation around in her hands, thinking about the best way to handle such a delicate situation. “Mom, it’s not that big of a deal. I know you and Miss Branwell don’t really like each other, but all you have to do is take me to her house. You won’t even have to talk to her if you don’t want to.”

“That wouldn’t be very polite,” Clary explained, biting down at her bottom lip. “Parents are usually expected to at least say hello to the host, you know?”

“Not like you and Miss Branwell are ever polite to each other,” Nora mumbled under her breath, earning herself a stern look from Clary. She knew her daughter had picked up on the not-so-subtle dislike floating between Clary and Lydia, but Nora knew better than to bring it up. “Sorry, but you know it’s true.”

“Yes, honey, I do, and I’m sorry that it tends to get in the way of your friendship with Evangelina, but there’s not much I can do about it,” she lied through her teeth. Truthfully, it would probably only take minimal effort for Lydia and her to stop arguing with each other all the time. However, Clary wasn’t sure she _wanted_ the arguments to stop, and she wouldn’t know where to start even if she did.

“But dad is going to make me late,” Nora whined, batting her eyelashes at Clary pleadingly. “Please, mom? You just have to take me there, say hello to Lydia and the other moms, and then you can go straight back home. And since I won’t be there, you’ll even get the apartment to yourself all afternoon.”

“If I take you this time, will you let me skip out on one of your soccer games? Your father has been begging me to let him take you at some point, and I’m honestly starting to reach my limit when it comes to your meets,” Clary bargained. She had attended ten games in the last two months, and it was truly starting to wear on her, especially since Lydia _also_ attended every single game.

“I thought you liked watching me play,” Nora pouted. “You always tell me that I’m a great player, and you’re a lot less annoying than dad when it comes to cheering me on. He’s so _embarrassing._ He tries to give me all these little pieces of advice all the time even though he hasn’t played in years, and the other moms always try to flirt with him.”

“I’m sure they do,” Clary chuckled. “But honey, you know I won’t be able to attend all of your sports meets forever, right? There’ll come a time when you won’t even want me there.”

“Shouldn’t that mean you want to enjoy the ones you can before I stop asking you to come?”

Clary should have known that raising an intelligent and logical daughter would come to bite her in the ass eventually. Nora didn’t always use her common sense – or her brain – but when she did, Clary was often surprised by how _good_ her daughter’s instincts were. She knew just what to say to get Clary to do exactly what she wanted her to, and she wasn’t afraid to manipulate her parents that way.

The worst part was Clary knew Jace wasn’t to blame for _that_ particular trait.

“You know what, why don’t we go back to talking about the soccer games at a later date, huh? Let’s focus on the birthday party for now. Are you sure you want to go?” They both knew the answer to that question, but Clary figured it never hurt to make sure, especially if there was a chance of her getting out of a passive-aggressive – or realistically, just aggressive – interaction.

“Yes mom, I’m sure I want to go,” Nora rolled her eyes. “And I don’t want to be late, so dad can’t take me.”

“You have no say in what your dad can and can’t do,” Clary raised her eyebrows. “And you should keep an eye on that sass, honey, because _I_ , on the other hand, can tell you what to do so long as you live under my roof.”

“You wouldn’t keep me away from my friends,” Nora crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Clary challengingly. “Dad always says that you’re all bark and no bite. I looked that up and it means that you talk and talk but you never do anything about it.”

“ _Nora_ ,” Clary said warningly. “Seriously, watch yourself. I love you, and your father is right that there is very little I would forbid you from doing, but that doesn’t mean you can talk to me like that. I understand that you’re frustrated about Lydia and I, and I know you just don’t want to be late to one of your closest friends’ birthday party, but you’re still just eight years old, Nora.”

To her credit, the younger redhead blushed and mumbled an apology under her breath. She _had_ just spent an entire day with her father, so Clary wasn’t surprised by the unusual lack of manners. Nora always tended to get a little more daring when she spent too much time with Jace, which was one of the reasons Clary was glad to have sole custody of their daughter.

“Now, I’ll take you to the birthday party, so long as you promise not to make any comments about Lydia and me again,” Clary told her daughter. “And I don’t just mean during the party. I mean that I want you to stop gossiping about it with your father and planning things with your friends behind our backs and pulling a face every time I talk to her.”

“Fine,” Nora hugged. “I just don’t want Angie to stop being my friend because our moms don’t get along. What if you get into a really big fight at some point and tell us we’re not allowed to spend time together anymore?”

“The good thing about Lydia and I not being friends is that it’ll be hard for us to get into a ‘big fight’ since that’s what we already do all the time,” Clary murmured reassuringly. She still didn’t think her friendship or lack of friendship with Lydia was any of her daughter’s business, but she could understand her concern. “And honey, I will _never_ forbid you from spending time with someone just because I don’t like their parents.”

“Promise?” Nora asked softly, blinking her mismatched eyes at Clary.

“Promise,” Clary smiled. “Now, why don’t you tell me all about Evangelina so we can decide on a gift to get her, huh?”

Nora grinned, and Clary knew right there and then that she had made the right call. As much as she would have rather had nothing do with the Branwells, she couldn’t control what made her daughter happy. If Evangelina brought Nora joy, then who was Clary to get in the way of their friendship?

***

“Miss Fairchild! You made it!”

Clary startled as Evangelina Branwell barrelled into her legs and grinned up at her delightedly. Next to her, Nora giggled before throwing her arms around her friend.

“Mom said you might not come but I told her you wouldn’t let Nora miss out on my party,” the brunette added once she separated herself from Clary. “And Nora promised me she would be here anyways, and she never breaks her promises, right?”

“Right,” Clary smiled, sending her daughter a proud look. “Promises are meant to be kept, after all. Would you mind showing us inside and telling us where we can put your gift? I know I should talk to your mother before I leave, but I want to make sure Nora is all good to go first.”

Nora opened her mouth as though to make a comment about Clary and Lydia again, but a single glance from her mother was enough to have her snap her jaw shut, clearly remembering their conversation from a week earlier. She knew she wouldn’t be able to monitor what the girls said to each other when they were alone, but at least it was _some_ progress.

“Sure! I’ll take you to my mom once all of that is taken care of,” Evangelina said cheerfully, skipping into the house and gesturing for the two Fairchild women to follow after her.

All in all, it took Evangelina less than five minutes to get everything sorted out and lead Clary into the backyard where Lydia was standing with three other women. Much to her amusement, Brenda – whom Lydia hated even more than she did Clary – was one of the mothers in attendance. Thank god Nora hadn’t become friends with that woman’s daughter, because Clary wasn’t sure she could have taken it.

At least Evangelina was a nice girl, and at least Lydia wasn’t as airheaded and frustratingly arrogant as Brenda.

“Ah, Clarissa!” Brenda exclaimed as she spotted her. As one, the three other adults turned to look at her with varying degrees of distaste. Brenda looked as irritated as always, Barbara was trying her best to ignore Clary, and Meghan raked her gaze up and down the redhead’s body a few times before curling her lip up. Lydia, however, almost looked… relieved?

Then again, who wouldn’t be after having had to spend time with three moms from Trinity who thought their kids could accomplish miracles just by blinking.

“I left Nora with Evangelina and the other girls inside,” Clary said in lieu of a greeting. “Didn’t want to interrupt her bonding time with adult conversation, you know?”

“Especially since we all know she already has to deal with a father like Jace Herondale,” Barbara smirked. “Don’t get me wrong, that man is fine as hell and I will never cease to wonder how you got him in your bed, but he’s hardly the smartest man out there. No offence to your daughter, of course.”

“Of course,” Clary repeated, forcing a smile onto her face. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t already heard; Jace tended to forget to use his brain when he was around women, which meant his reputation – and Clary’s – wasn’t always the best around Trinity parents.

“Not that your husband is any better,” Lydia cut in, shooting Clary an unreadable glance. “I think we’ve all heard the rumours circulating. I hope that’s all they are, of course, but I worry for you, Barb. Are you sure you should be here and not at home? After all, who really knows what goes on when we’re not in the house?”

“Defending Fairchild, now?” Meghan raised one of her eyebrows condescendingly. “After all the trouble we hear the two of you have been causing at school, I’m surprised your daughters are even still enrolled at Trinity.”

“Although maybe not, given what I’ve heard about the school board handing out favours to kids based on their parentage,” Brenda added, smiling smugly when Clary tensed up. It was no secret that the only reason Nora had gotten a scholarship was because of Jace’s ties to the school board, but it also wasn’t something she tended to advertise.

“Still talking about me behind my back, I see,” she smiled dangerously. “Just remember that you might want to think twice before getting on my bad side, since I could do wonders to keep your daughters at Trinity. Just ask Lydia.”

“Excuse me?” The woman in question gaped, staring at Clary as though she had just spewed complete nonsense. “When have you ever done anything to help Evangelina? If I remember correctly, you tried to _blame_ the phone incident on my daughter at first before you realised it had just been a mistake on the school’s part.”

“Because you didn’t try to do the same thing to mine?” Clary scoffed. “You judged Nora and our family from the very first time we met and, no matter what we do to prove that we’re just as worthy as you are, you still hang on to your high horses. You know beauty can’t get you everywhere, right?”

“Well it’s gotten me pretty far up till now,” Lydia retorted, waving around at her large garden and – admittedly beautiful – house. “So really, even if the only thing I have going for me is beauty, at least I’m not banking everything on how kind I can be to others. Your pandering is cute, but it’s also not as effective as you seem to think it is.”

“ _Pandering_ , really?” Clary huffed, more amused than annoyed at this point. “I just call it having manners, but I guess that’s not something you’d know about, huh? You’re far too charming to have to be nice to people, aren’t you? After all, who needs to say their please and thank yous when they can just fake a compliment and get away with it.”

“Jealous of my charm, Fairchild?” Lydia chuckled lowly. “Well, I have to admit green is a good colour on you, but jealousy is hardly an attractive trait. You wouldn’t want to ruin your perfect image with something like that.”

“So you think I’m perfect, do you?” Clary grinned, feeling strangely triumphant even as the other mothers stared between the two of them with wide, disbelieving eyes. “Not that you’re the only one, since your daughter is apparently also a little enamoured by me. Genetic, is it?”

“Oh please, we both know Nora adores me even more than Evangelina likes you,” Lydia snorted. “That girl is basically begging me to sleep over. If it weren’t for the fact that you would never agree, I would have her over every week-end without fault.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Clary challenged, grinning sharply when Lydia’s eyes started blazing with the same fire that had drawn the redhead to their debates in the first place. “How about this? I let Nora sleep here tonight, and Evangelina can come over next week. Then we can ask them which sleepover they preferred and determine who the favourite mom truly is.”

“As if any child would ever choose the sleepover that happened at that cramped place you call an apartment,” Brenda interrupted, laughing haughtily. “I’m sorry Clarissa, but there’s really no question as to who can provide the best evenings for the girls. At least this place has a small pool.”

“Right, because a pool is the only thing that can keep children entertained,” Clary rolled her eyes. “You do realise I’m an artist who works with children and specialises in making them have fun in new, creative ways, right?”

“You are?” Lydia frowned, earning herself an incredulous look from Clary. They had known each other for half a year already, how on _earth_ did she not know what Clary did for a living? “Right, you are. Either way, the house will have nothing to do with who wins this. Just because you don’t know how to take care of kids doesn’t mean Clary doesn’t either, Brenda.”

“I was just trying to support the mother who lives on the right side of the city,” Brenda huffed. “But clearly I’m not welcome here anymore. I might as well leave right now, since I’ve already been hanging around for far too long. Keep me updated on how things go and tell me if anything happens to Haley.”

“Of course,” Lydia smiled unconvincingly. “Anything for your lovely little _munchkin_ , Brenda.”

The sarcasm flew right over Brenda’s head, and she left without another word, Barbara and Meghan in tow. Clary wasn’t sure what had just happened, but she was starting to wonder if a war was going on between the Trinity moms. More importantly, she was starting to wonder if she and Lydia had somehow ended up on the same team.

“You can go now, you know?” Lydia folded her arms over her chest in an almost defensive posture. “I’m not going to do anything to your daughter, and I’m sure you have other things to do with your day than watch over children in a backyard. Besides, I’m going to have to deal with the last two moms soon enough, and I know how you feel about Sadie.”

Clary blanched at the mere thought of the cold-hearted bitch who had somehow given birth to one of the loveliest girls Clary had ever met. She wasn’t sure what she had done to deserve a warning from Lydia, but she wasn’t about to ignore it. If she could get out of a conversation with both Lydia _and_ Sadie, then she would damn well jump on that opportunity.

“You have my number in case Nora needs anything!” She called out as she left, all but sprinting back into the house and out the front door.

Only when she was safely in her car did she realise that _no_ , Lydia did not have her phone number, because Clary had been too petty to give it to her when they had first met and it had then been too late to ask for it. She could have gone back inside the house, but Sadie was due to arrive and Lydia had Jace’s number, so it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Besides, why on earth would Clary want _Lydia Branwell_ , of all people, to have access to her cell phone? No, they were better off this way, with as little means to contact each other as possible.

* * *

Clary wasn’t sure how it happened, but by the time summer passed and the next school year rolled around, the Branwells had become somewhat of a fixture in the Fairchild family’s life.

It started with Jace bringing Evangelina over for sleepovers when he took Nora on week-end adventures, but soon enough the girls were all but living in each other’s homes every other week. Lydia and Clary mostly stayed away from each other, but it wasn’t long before Jace and Alec dragged them to ‘family dinners’ that every member of their mismatched group had to attend.

Soon enough, Clary was painting with Alec and Magnus’ son Rafael every Wednesday and taking both girls to practise soccer with the rest of their team. Their families worked well together and, even though Clary and Lydia never stopped bickering and arguing, things got a little easier.

The tension between them remained and everyone knew that neither of them were each other’s first choice of company, but at least they weren’t as antagonistic as they had been at first. Nora and Evangelina seemed to appreciate their efforts, and even the men had expressed their happiness over their ‘friendship’.

Things were… good. The last family dinner before the girls had to go back to school rolled around, and although Clary was still confused about what was going on between Lydia and her, she had to admit she would probably miss their families’ weekly meet-ups.

“I’m just looking forward to being able to see the other moms again. It’s been an absolute pain only being able to talk to Trinity’s least popular parent,” Lydia sighed as Jace brought out dessert and some more wine. The kids had been sent to bed half an hour earlier and wouldn’t be bothering them, so it was time for them to get at least decently tipsy.

First days of school were never easy, and Clary needed to be as hungover as possible if she wanted to come out of it at least relatively sane.

“Ah yes, I’m sure Brenda and Barbara will be delighted to get their token single mom back,” Clary grinned toothily, swiftly dodging Jace’s elbow as he tried to jab her ribs. “It’s a wonder you didn’t try to organise garden parties with those two; I’m sure they would have loved seeing your swimming pool again, especially if you had asked our favourite men to stop by.”

“I wouldn’t have complained,” Jace smiled smarmily, earning himself matching disgusted looks from the rest of the group. “Oh come on, are you saying that neither of you have checked Brenda out before? She may be a complete bitch most of the time, but she’s hot and she knows it.”

“She’s also married,” Lydia pointed out. “And no, I’ve never checked her out before because unlike you, I have standards. For one, I would never sleep with _you_.”

“Ouch,” Clary raised her hand to her heart dramatically, pointedly not thinking about the very real pain that had shot through her stomach at the thought of Lydia’s ‘standards’. “You sure know how to wound a woman, Branwell. Although really, maybe Jace’s standards are this low because he knows he hit the jackpot with his first love and will never be able to do any better than me.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Fairchild,” Jace snorted. “After all, you’re just as single as Lydia and I are.”

“So what you’re trying to say is that the only ones with standards here are Magnus and I,” Alec cut in, smirking smugly as his husband wrapped his arm around the taller man’s shoulders. “The three of you sure as hell can’t afford to be picky at this point, and before you protest, I _know_ you went on a date with Meghan last week, Jace.”

Clary whipped her head towards her ex, her jaw dropping as she noted the guilty look on the blond man’s face. God, was she on her way to becoming that desperate too? Sleeping with people like _Meghan_? Her eyes locked with Lydia’s and she knew without a doubt that the other woman was going through a similarly horrifying thought process.

“Oh no, don’t look at me like that,” Lydia shook her head rapidly at Clary. “At least I’ve been on a date in the past year. With your tendency to get lost in work and use your daughter as an excuse not to go out, I bet it’s been at least a year and a half for you, right?”

The redhead stayed stubbornly silent, but her unwillingness to speak was probably the only confession the others needed. She knew they wouldn’t judge her for not wanting to go out with anyone, but she still felt a blush rise on her cheeks at the thought of how little action she had gotten over the past couple of years.

She was honestly starting to think that she would never find her _person_ , the one who would love her unconditionally just as much as she would love them. She was thirty years old and hadn’t dated anyone in two years, so she truly didn’t think her odds were great.

“Maybe _you’re_ the token single mom at school,” Lydia chuckled, leaning back in her seat and taking a gulp of wine that had Clary feeling strangely hot. “It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch, given what the other moms already think of you.”

Something must have flashed in Clary’s eyes then, anger or bitterness or hurt, because Lydia looked away from her in what could have only been shame. The blonde bit down on her bottom lip as though she knew she had done something wrong but refused to apologise for it, just as she had refused to apologise for all her faux-pas so far.

There was a reason why Clary still refused to call Lydia her friend, and it had nothing to do with the way her heart clenched when the other woman was around. For all that she could be great with the rest of their pieced-together family, Lydia still seemed to view Clary as an outsider. Until that changed, Clary wasn’t sure she would manage to see Lydia as anything other than an acquaintance whom she could somewhat stand as long as other people were around.

“Really, you two?” Magnus huffed, rolling his eyes at them as he always did when they did something he deemed ridiculous. “Clary, you know Lydia didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, just as you didn’t mean to hurt hers when you called her a bad parent earlier. Get it together, girls.”

“Magnus is right,” Alec sighed, collecting their dessert plates and staring straight at Lydia. “Snide comments and teasing are the only way you two know how to interact, so either change that or stop getting offended every time the other goes a tiny bit too far. This is our last evening together before things get crazy again, so how about you try to keep the tension away from us for the rest of the night?”

For a second, neither Clary nor Lydia spoke. The redhead was staring at Lydia head on, but the blonde still refused to meet her gaze, which only served to annoy Clary further. Lydia _knew_ how much Clary hated being ignored when they got in fights, and at this point she knew Lydia looked away on purpose.

It wasn’t doing Clary’s temper any favours.

“God, you’re both idiots,” Jace said loudly, standing up suddenly and helping Alec with the rest of the dishes before cuffing Clary on the back of the head. “If you don’t figure things out in the next hour or so, I’ll take matters into my own hands. Believe me when I say that you don’t want that to happen.”

“Take matters into- Jace, what matters are you even talking about?” Clary frowned, glancing at Lydia again to see if the blonde had any idea what the man was talking about.

To her utter confusion, it looked like the other woman _did_ know what Jace meant, although it didn’t seem like she was in any way inclined to tell Clary about it. She was glaring at Jace instead, as though he had just betrayed a secret he hadn’t been supposed to let slip. Clary wished any of it made sense to her, but she really couldn’t think of what Jace would possibly want to fix for them.

“Right,” Clary drawled. “Well, if no one is going to tell me what’s going on here, I think I’ll take my leave for the night. I wouldn’t want to ruin a nice evening because of something I’m not even aware of, after all. Magnus, Alec, are you still okay with having Nora sleep here tonight?”

“Of course,” Magnus nodded. “But Jace was just joking around, biscuit, you don’t have to leave so soon.”

“It’s fine,” she smiled softly, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek before waving at the other occupants of the room – even Lydia, who winced a little at the gesture but didn’t say anything else. “I’ll see all of you soon, I guess. Jace, don’t forget that you’re picking Nora up from school tomorrow. Work is going to be busy and there’s no way I’ll make it on time all the way from Brooklyn.”

“It’s no problem at all,” Jace said, grinning a little too widely for Clary’s tastes. “You go get some rest, I’ll bring Nora home safely tomorrow night just like we planned.”

Clary narrowed her eyes at the blond man for a moment longer, trying to understand why he looked so gleeful, but decided it was probably another secret she wouldn’t be let in on. She left the house quickly after that, hugging Alec tightly and promising him that they would see each other as soon as she could get a day off before heading back to her car.

Even as she drove off, she couldn’t help but think back on what Jace had said about taking matters into his own hands. Surely, he was just trying to scare them into making up faster than usual, right? It wasn’t like there was anything he could do for the tension lingering between Clary and Lydia.

Really, there was nothing to worry about.

***

Except apparently, there _was_ something to worry about.

“Miss Fairchild, I assume?”

Clary smiled warmly at Nora’s new teacher, Ragnor Fell, and extended a hand for him to shake. Nora had only been in his class for one day and she was already singing his praises, so Clary was hopeful that there wouldn’t be any repeats of the phone incident that year.

“That’s me,” she confirmed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it here last night and had to send her father instead, but I don’t exactly work close and things were even busier than I thought they’d be. However I hope it was made clear to you that her father isn’t her primary caretaker and should only be called in case of emergency.”

“Of course,” the teacher nodded. “The girls should be here in less than a minute; most of the other kids have already left but I was told that you and Miss Branwell tended to run a little late because of your schedules.”

“We try our best to be on time, but it’s rarely enough,” Clary admitted sheepishly. “Although I’m pretty sure the girls don’t mind in the slightest. I’m not sure how well-behaved they are in your classroom, but they’re the best of friends and tend to make everyone crazy on family week-ends.”

“I wouldn’t know if you hadn’t told me,” Ragnor chuckled. “They’re both amazing kids who love to learn only a little less than they love to play soccer. I’ve only had them in my class for two days and I already know they’re going to be delights to work with. The same can’t be said for some of the other kids, or at least for some of the parents.”

His eyes strayed to Meghan and Barbara as he spoke, and Clary had to hold back a snort. The two women were too busy gossiping to pay attention to their daughters, even though Clary was willing to bet that at least one of them had an extra-curricular they needed to get to in the next half hour.

“Mom!”

Clary’s gaze snapped to her right as Nora came skipping towards her, fingers interlaced with Evangelina’s. A few months ago, Clary would have sighed at the sight and tried to hurry out of the room before Lydia could arrive, but those days were long gone.

“Hey there Nora, Angie,” Clary greeted the girls, giving them both a brief hug before turning back towards the teacher. She figured leaving before Lydia arrived would only end in protests and two very unhappy girls, and there was no harm in waiting anyways. “I’ve heard great things about you from Nora, Mister Fell, and I hope to hear a great deal more in the near future.”

“Well, I certainly try my best,” the teacher smiled, bending down slightly to high-five both his students. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then? Or will you get caught up at work again?”

“I’ll probably be coming back tomorrow,” Clary answered, frowning at the man’s quick dismissal. “I’m sorry, are parents not allowed to wait in the classroom anymore? I assumed, since Barbara and Meghan were having a private conversation, that we could stay here until Lydia got here, but…”

“Oh! Are you not taking both girls home?” Ragnor exclaimed, staring between Clary and the girls confusedly. “Mister Herondale told me that your families were… very close, so I assumed you would simply be picking up the girls every other day or so. He made it seem like the two of you had already moved in together, but I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions without consulting you or Miss Branwell first.”

Clary’s thoughts came to a screeching halt at the implications behind _moving in together_. There was only one reason why her daughter’s teacher would think that she and Lydia were living together, and it wasn’t one she had ever even considered.

At least, not seriously. Not _really_ seriously.

“I’m sorry, you must be mistaken,” Clary winced. “Jace is known for pulling pranks from time to time, and I’m not sure what he said to you or the other parents that made you think Lydia and I could be living together, but…”

“Hey guys!” Lydia’s voice rang clearly from behind Clary, and the redhead wondered what she had done to deserve such poor timing on the other woman’s part. “Sorry I’m late, I was dealing with clients and wasn’t sure how to get out of it without coming off as rude, and then I completely lost track of time. Maybe I should have just texted you and asked that you take the girls home.”

Clary also face-palmed on the spot. She knew Lydia hadn’t heard the beginning of the conversation between Ragnor and her, but it still felt like the blonde was deliberately making things harder for them. It was one thing to deny any kind of relationship with Lydia when the blonde wasn’t around; it was another to do so when she was _right there_.

After all, she knew all too well how easily Lydia could get offended, and the last thing she wanted to do was leave a bad impression on her daughter’s teacher _again_ because of their inability to remain cool around each other.

“I can put you both on each other’s picking up lists if that would make things easier for you,” Ragnor suggested, his eyes full of… understanding? And god, now Clary was coming off as a closeted woman who didn’t want to out her relationship to the rest of the world. “It really wouldn’t be difficult, and it would certainly make things easier for you as parents.”

“That would be lovely,” Lydia immediately said, smiling delightedly at Ragnor before turning her grin onto Clary, who promptly lost her breath.

So yes, maybe she found Lydia attractive sometimes, and maybe she thought about her smile more often than necessary, but it was completely platonic. There was nothing between them, no chemistry or sexual tension, _nothing_. Sure, they’d been mistaken for a couple a few times, but it was mostly because people saw two adults with kids and immediately made the wrong assumption.

The point was, Clary and Lydia were _not_ dating, and it would be better for everyone involved if their daughters’ teacher didn’t think they were. Unfortunately, Clary didn’t think that was in their hands anymore, since Ragnor had clearly made up his mind about their dynamic.

“Perfect! Then I’ll let the two of you be on your way! I hope you have a wonderful evening!” The teacher clapped his hands together, nodded at the two women, and ruffled their daughters’ hair one last time before heading towards Barbara and Meghan.

“Now _that’s_ going to be an interesting conversation,” Lydia chuckled, gaze fixed on the other two mothers. “How do you think they’ll react once they realise that some teachers aren’t half as accommodating as the ones they’ve had to deal with so far?”

“Badly,” Clary responses without hesitation. “Fortunately for us, the teachers who don’t like them seem to like us, so we have nothing to worry about. Now, care to explain why you would tell him it was okay for me to take Evangelina home? Do you have any idea what he thinks of us now?”

“That we’re friends?” Lydia said slowly, staring at Clary as though she wasn’t making any sense. “I mean, obviously our relationship is a little more complicated than that, but he probably just thinks our families are close.”

“Yeah he does,” Clary hissed as they led their daughters out of the school. “He thinks our families are close because we’re _dating_ and _live together_. I was just about to tell him that Jace was fu- messing with him, but then you cut in and made it seem like we actually are a couple.”

“Oh,” Lydia said softly, looking away from Clary and chewing at her inner cheek the way she always did when she was nervous or uncomfortable. “I’m… sorry?”

“It’s not completely your fault,” Clary sighed. “I just wished he hadn’t come to that conclusion so fast. How are we supposed to tell him that we aren’t dating now? He’s going to think we’re either too ashamed to say anything or broke up in a terrible way and pity us for the rest of the year.”

“We could just… pretend,” Lydia shrugged, earning herself a wide-eyed look from Clary.

“Pretend to date?” Clary huffed amusedly. “Right, because there’s no way we’ll get caught in less than a minute if we try to do that. The other moms know we’re not dating, for one, so our cover will be blown in less than a minute. Besides, how on earth would we act around each other? We’re not even _attracted_ to each other, how are we supposed to make him believe we’re in love?”

“Oh, I don’t know Clary, maybe because the only thing keeping us from being a couple is the fact that you’re such an oblivious asshole!” Lydia cried out, throwing her hands in the air. “And just so you know, the other moms _do_ think we’re dating, so that wouldn’t be an obstacle. Just… Think for a second, Fairchild, and call me when you’ve come to your sense.”

With that, she left, leaving Clary to wonder what on earth had just happened and why everyone other than her had been made aware of her supposed relationship with Lydia.

* * *

It took Clary less than a day to realise that she truly was as oblivious as Lydia had claimed she was.

She wasn’t sure when it had happened, and she wasn’t sure why she hadn’t noticed it happen, but there was no doubt in Clary’s mind. She had turned her feelings and thoughts every which way before coming to the – inevitable – conclusion that she was completely and utterly in love with Lydia Branwell.

And if Lydia’s outburst from the previous day was anything to go by, her feelings were very much reciprocated. God, she had been such a fool, and everyone had known it. Jace had known, Magnus and Alec had probably known, the other mothers had known, and Clary would bet that Nora and Evangelina had been aware of it all too.

The problem was Clary didn’t really have any experience with relationships. She had realised she was a lesbian soon after breaking up with Jace, but she had only gone on a few dates in the past decade. None of them had ever led to anything serious, which meant Clary had no idea how she was supposed to act around someone she was in love with.

Rationally, she knew she needed to find Lydia and declare her love for her or something like that, but it was much easier said than done. If it had taken Clary months to notice Lydia and she had were far more than acquaintances, then who knew how long it would take her to work up the courage to tell Lydia about her feelings?

Of course, the blonde seemed to already know what was going on in Clary’s heart and mind, but there was a good chance she was still waiting for some kind of confirmation on Clary’s part. Which just brought the redhead back to square one.

She knew she had to do something if she wanted to keep Lydia in her life and maybe take her out on a clearly-overdue date, but she didn’t know _what_. Would a phone call be enough, or was she supposed to go all out for her first confession? God, was she going to have to apologise for being such an idiot?

“Is everything alright, mom?” Nora asked, hopping onto the kitchen counter and staring at the beginnings of breakfast with a small pout. “We need to leave in twenty minutes, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Clary said, trying to smile as genuinely as possible. “And I’m alright; I just got lost in my thoughts for a little bit. Would you mind just having some cereal and juice today? I don’t think I’ll have the time to finish these sandwiches before we need to get going.”

“Sure,” Nora shrugged, jumping off the marble surface and hurrying to grab a bowl and some cereal before returning to her previous position. “What thoughts were you thinking about?”

“Lovely sentence, honey,” Clary snorted. “And really, it’s nothing for you to worry about. Just focus on your cereal and what you’ll be doing in class today. Didn’t you tell me Ragnor had promised you a day out at the park if you all behaved during your maths lesson?”

“You’re changing the subject,” Nora said, completely disregarding Clary’s other statements. “Dad says you always do that when you don’t want me to ask any more questions, so I usually just ignore it, but does this have something to do with Lydia? Is it about what you did to make her swear in front of us yesterday?”

“I didn’t do anything to make her swear,” Clary immediately protested, very aware of just how true that comment was. After all, if she had done something earlier – or at least realised something earlier – they wouldn’t be stuck in such an awkward situation. “She was just a little annoyed at me. I think your father might have been too, and maybe even your uncles.”

“I think they’re all annoyed at Lydia too,” Nora pointed out around a mouthful of fruit loops. “Dad always says you two are idiots, and even though Magnus and Alec never say it out loud, I know they’re thinking it too. Is this because you’re in love with Lydia?”

Clary opened and closed her mouth a few times at her daughter’s bluntness, wondering how long Nora had known for sure. How many months had passed since Nora had started thinking of Lydia as a potential step-mom rather than a strict aunt? More importantly, why hadn’t she _told_ Clary? Or at least hinted at it, for god’s sake

“It’s because I didn’t know I was in love with Lydia,” she finally explained, closing her eyes at the look of judgement, confusion and confusion that flashed across her daughter’s features. “Yes, honey, I know she was being rather obvious, but I was also being a little bit… blind. Sometimes when you’re not looking for something, you don’t realise it’s been right in front of your eyes all along.”

“So you haven’t been hiding your relationship from Lina and I?” Nora asked slowly, sounding like that was something she had truly thought about. As though Clary would _ever_ hide a relationship from the most important person in her life. “Because we were starting to think you just didn’t want us to know because you were afraid or embarrassed or something.”

“No, _no_ , honey, absolutely not,” Clary shook her head wildly, leaning over the counter to cup her daughter’s face with both hands. “I would never hide something that important from you, Nora, alright? I’ve just been a little foolish about my own feelings and didn’t realise I didn’t hate Lydia anymore until she pointed out that everyone else thought we were dating.”

“You really love her,” Nora murmured, stating a fact rather than asking a question. Clary wasn’t sure what she had done to deserve such a perceptive and understanding daughter, but she would never stop to thank whatever deity had blessed her with Nora. “I think she really loves you too.”

“Yeah,” Clary whispered. “I think so too. I don’t think she would have gotten that angry if she didn’t care about me at least a little bit.”

“So are you going to tell her that you love her?” Nora asked, blinking up at her innocently. “That’s how it works, right? You’ll kiss her and everything will be okay again and I can live with Evangelina all the time without having to go from the house to the apartment. Oh, and we’ll get to share the pool!”

“What is it with everyone and that pool?” Clary muttered, trying her best to ignore the way her heart soared at the thought of their little family living together in Lydia’s house. “But it’s a little more complicated than that, Nora. I’m going to have to talk to her and ask her what she wants to do about our feelings and figure things out one moment at a time. Point is, we won’t be moving in with the Branwells anytime soon.”

“But you’re still going to date Lydia, right?” Nora asked quietly. “Because dad said he had a bet with Alec going on and he didn’t want to lose it.”

“Of course they do,” Clary rolled her eyes. “And I don’t know. I want to, but it’s not just up to me; she also has to want to date me, and we might have to talk about a few serious things first and make sure we want the same thing and… Right, you’re only nine, sorry honey. What I’m trying to say is that I like Lydia a lot and I would really like dating her, but there are a lot of things to consider.”

“Okay,” Nora huffed loudly. “But promise you’ll talk to her today? You know how impatient I can get.”

“Oh, yes I do,” Clary laughed. “I will try my best to talk to her today, although that’s also not something I can control. You might just have to wait a while longer if she’s in a hurry to get to work and can’t pick Evangelina up on time.”

“Fine,” Nora pouted.

“Don’t use that tone on me, little one,” Clary chuckled. “You know very well what I think about your attitude, and I would be a bit more careful if I were you. Or do you _want me_ to skip your first game of the season?”

“Dad says that’s called blackmail,” Nora sing-songed. “And that you should stop using it on your child.”

“And I think you should stop listening to everything your dad says,” Clary snorted. “One of these days you’re going to say something to a teacher and get yourself in trouble because of it. Besides, I hardly think blackmail is the right word to use in our situation. I’m just… bargaining with you.”

“Whatever,” Nora grumbled, visibly fighting back a smile. “Can we go now? You won’t be able to talk to Lydia if we’re late.”

“We can go as soon as you have your shoes on, honey,” Clary said, poking her daughter’s forehead and gesturing at her bare feet with her other hand. “So you’d better hurry. Apparently, the state of my love life now depends entirely on your ability to put your shoes on fast enough.”

The younger redhead was gone before Clary was even done speaking. Given the speed at which she was going, there was no way in hell they were going to be late.

Honestly, Clary wasn’t sure whether that was a good or a bad thing.

***

Now that she was aware of her feelings for Clary, it was impossible for the redhead not to notice every single thing that should have tipped her off about how much she adored the other woman.

There was the fact that Clary always found herself smiling and blushing when Lydia was around, and the fact that her mornings were always better when she got to see the blonde woman. There was the way they greeted each other, always leaning a little too close and talking a little too softly, almost as though every moment they shared was intimate and important.

And of course, there was the fact that no matter how hard she tried to look away, Clary could not keep her eyes off Lydia.

That morning, as she leaned against the hood of her car and watched Lydia drop Evangelina off, she was hit by how _stupid_ she had been all along. She had been so obviously in love with Lydia, had clearly cared about her more than she’d ever cared about anyone, and she… She hadn’t even known.

“Didn’t take you too long, I see,” Lydia said as she approached Clary, her hands shoved into her pockets in an uncharacteristic show of nervousness. “Nora had a hopeful look on her face when I walked in, so I thought you might be waiting outside.”

“Yeah, I- I think there’s some things we need to talk about,” Clary stammered, feeling marginally less nervous when Lydia smiled at her words. “Things we probably should have talked about months ago but that I was too oblivious to realise were there. I’m sorry, by the way, for being such an idiot all this time.”

“Ah, so you _have_ come to a conclusion about your feelings, huh?” Lydia chuckled softly, looking up at Clary from underneath her lashes. “I was starting to think even my little breakdown wouldn’t be enough to get you to wake up.”

“Well, you did make it quite obvious,” Clary said sheepishly. “I’m just a little embarrassed that it didn’t occur to me earlier, even though all the signs were pointing towards us liking each other. I’m a little afraid to ask this, but how- how long has it been?”

“Since I’ve been interested in you?” Lydia raised her eyebrows. “Five months or so, give or take a few days. Honestly, I should have known better than to fall for someone who still hated me at the time, but you were always beautiful even when you were snapping or yelling at me, and my heart is only so strong.”

“And how long has it been since you realised your interest might not be as unrequited as you had originally believed?” Clary asked even more quietly, curious but also a little worried that it had been longer than she could have ever anticipated. Surely, it hadn’t been any longer than a mo-

“Two months?” Lydia shrugged. “I’m not really sure, since I’m not the one in your mind, but that’s when Jace started teasing me about it and Alec noticed soon after, so… Yeah. For someone who’s so good at understanding other people’s emotional states and caring for everyone around you, you sure are terrible at thinking about your own feelings.”

“It’s not my strong suit, I’ll admit,” Clary grimaced. “But in my defence, I haven’t been on a date in a very long time, and I’d honestly forgotten what it felt like to have a crush. So falling in love? That was never even on my mind. I guess I was just so caught up in the idea of us being arch-nemeses that I never considered anything else.”

“God, you were so _frustrating_ , you _are_ so frustrating,” Lydia muttered, pressing her lips together tightly as though she was trying to suppress a smile. “I never really hated you, you know? Well, I might have hated you a little that first day at the soccer game, but I had completely forgotten about it by the time Nora joined Trinity. After that, I was just trying to get your attention. At first, because I thought teasing you was more entertaining than anything I’d done in a while, but then just because I wanted you to keep talking to me, one way or another.”

“You know you could have always said something, right?” Clary crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly realising that she wasn’t the only one who had acted like a fool. “I’m not the only one to blame for how long it took me to realise I was in love with you. Things would have gone a lot faster if you had just told me you were interested, you know?”

“I wasn’t- I wasn’t sure- That’s completely besides the-” Lydia blushed brightly. “Wait, you’re in love with me?”

“I thought that was the entire point of this conversation,” Clary furrowed her brows, suddenly wondering if she had missed a part of their discussion whilst she had been busy thinking about how beautiful Lydia was. “That you’re in love with me and I’m in love with you and maybe we should do something about it now that we’re both on the same page.”

“You went from not knowing you were interested to being in love with me _that_ fast?” Lydia gaped. “I thought I’d at least have to woo you with a few dates or convince you that what you were feeling was real or something.”

“That… Makes sense,” Clary admitted, flushing a dark red. “I guess I just don’t really need that much time? I feel like we’ve already wasted quite a while figuring out what we meant to each other, and I really don’t want to wait any longer to date you and hold you and kiss you.”

Clary wasn’t quite sure when she had gotten so bold, but she figured she had nothing to lose. Lydia liked her, she liked Lydia, and they’d apparently been dancing around each other for months already. What was the point in waiting for a sign that they were ready to move onto the next step when that step was right in front of them?

“You should kiss her, mom!”

Clary and Lydia turned around as one, startling momentarily at Nora and Evangelina’s sudden appearance before realising that their daughters were _right there_. Class had started ten minutes ago, but they were standing in their school’s parking lot as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

And despite every parental instinct screaming at Clary to get to her daughter and drag her back to her classroom, Evangelina’s words echoed in her mind and refused to leave.

“We should probably-”

“Yeah,” Clary agreed, although she didn’t make a move to approach their daughters.

Instead, her eyes flitted from Lydia’s eyes to her lips and she found herself unable to look away. There wasn’t a single part of Lydia that she found unattractive, but she suddenly couldn’t gather up the strength to drag her gaze away from those perfect lips. She wanted to kiss the blonde woman so bad, wanted to prove that she really _did_ love her, that she wasn’t just making things up in her mind.

She wanted Lydia’s body pressed against hers, and she wanted it sooner rather than later. God, she had always thought she was a patient person, but Lydia seemed to be testing her in every possible way.

“Just kiss me,” she finally breathed out, sending Lydia a pleading glance and sighing relievedly when the other woman closed the distance between them easily.

Lydia kissed Clary like she was afraid the redhead would disappear if she was too passionate. She kissed her softly and tenderly and so, _so_ lovingly that Clary thought she might combust on the spot. She kissed as though she had been thinking about it for months and wasn’t sure where to start or where to end. She kissed like it was the only thing that mattered, and Clary was lost.

She could hear Nora and Evangelina cheering in the background, but not even the reminder that their daughters were skipping out on school just to make sure they got together was enough to make her pull away from Lydia. In the end, only the thought of work and schedules and _air_ made her break their embrace.

She was breathing far more heavily than usual, and she wasn’t quite sure she was going to be able to focus on work once she reached the gallery, but none of that mattered. It didn’t matter because she loved Lydia and for some reason, Lydia had lasted all these months and still loved her too.

And when Nora rushed to them and squealed delightedly about finally having the entire family brought together, Clary couldn’t even find it in herself to be mad at her daughter for her complete disregard for the rules.

“We totally helped you guys get together,” Evangelina grinned. “Dad owes me twenty dollars!”

“But we all owe my dad ten dollars because he was the closest to the actual date,” Nora pouted. “So really, you’re just getting ten dollars.”

“That’s still more than what you’ll be getting,” Evangelina stuck her tongue out at the older girl. “So who’s the real winner here, huh? At least I won’t have to beg my mom for money to give to uncle Jace.”

Clary and Lydia shared an exasperated glance at their daughters’ antics, but neither of them said anything as they gently directed the girls back towards the school. Hopefully they wouldn’t get into too much trouble for running out of class, but Clary was optimistic they could negotiate with Ragnor if that was the case.

“You know they’re already talking about us moving in together, right?” Clary murmured underneath her breath. “How long before they start a betting pool about _that_?”

“Not long at all,” Lydia laughed, lacing her fingers with Clary’s as they walked into the building. “After all, you seem to like moving fast, and I’m afraid I’ve been waiting for you far too long to be patient now. Given how enthusiastic the girls are about our relationship, I’d say it’s not long before they start asking us to get engaged.”

“Good thing I love you then, huh?” Clary teased the blonde woman, smiling warmly when Lydia blushed prettily.

“Yeah, good thing you love me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Heya guys! Thank you so much for reading! And a very, very happy birthday to the most wonderful woman in my life. You are absolutely amazing and deserve every single word of this fic - even though you might hate me for how long it took them to kiss. I love you to pieces and hope this gift will bring you some joy <3 I hope you all enjoyed the Fairwell content!
> 
> Love, Junie. 
> 
> (find me on [tumblr](https://hopesilverheart.tumblr.com/))


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